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Sweeping or Digging Golf Swing?

Do you have a sweeping swing or a digging swing? The most common miss with the sweeping swing is directional, whereas, a miss with the digging swing can be short, long, AND directional.

Do you have a sweeping or digging golf swing?

Most pros have a digging golf swing and a lot of amateurs have a sweeping golf swing.

Sweeping or Digging Golf Swing?

The most common miss with the sweeping swing is directional, whereas, a miss with the digging swing can be short, long, AND directional.

The digging swing is used by most pros to keep the ball low, with lots of spin, out of the elements of Mother Nature but also requires the technician to be very precise.

A sweeping swing doesn’t require the golfer to be as precise and is recommended for most amateurs.

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12 Comments

  1. Derrick Chant

    January 5, 2020 at 1:52 pm

    So what happens if you sweep and dig? Im a sweeper with longer irons dig with shorter irons.

    Reply
  2. Barry DeChambeau

    January 6, 2020 at 1:07 am

    If you sweep the ball with a blade style iron you will get little distance because the centre of mass (CM) on a blade is higher on the club face than it is on a game improvement irion where there is more mass at the bottom of the club thus lowering the CM. To make “solid” contact with the ball using blades (like nearly all pros) it is essential to have a downward divot taking swing so that contact with the ball’s CM is made as close as possible to that of the club face.

    Reply
  3. Spud

    January 7, 2020 at 8:06 pm

    How would you recommend a “digger” altering his swing to me more of a “sweeper?”

    Reply
  4. Richard Nuzzo

    February 12, 2020 at 9:08 am

    T:

    I would take a significant divot with short irons. Wanted the spin, except on hard greens, then I would try to get the ball to come in softly. I swept long irons much the same as I swept fairway woods and the Driver.

    I would love to see what the nnew technology would do or y distance with the Driver. I always hit the ball fairly far, but today’s technology makes you hit it even farther. If you do not play with new technology you are at a disadvantage. And, today’s golf ball flies!

    Reply
  5. Gene Parente

    February 12, 2020 at 4:27 pm

    Richard you are correct it pays to upgrade

    Reply
  6. J.B. GRENNOR

    March 13, 2020 at 5:40 pm

    As an ’emerging’ golfer, that video was one of the most informative… and supportive for me!

    I am a Sweeper (friends call it a ‘Picker’) and I was led to believe that as a Sweeper, I should endeavor to take a divot.

    Now,as a result of viewing your video, I am confident in my Sweeper designation since I do not have ample time to practice to be a Digger and I do not expect to break into tour play in this life-time.

    I kinda like my towering iron shots… A Sweeper I will be – Wind or no Wind.

    Reply
  7. Steve Ruis

    March 14, 2020 at 8:05 am

    Well, there is also the factor that the pros never play on hard pan. Their fairways are soft and cushy and you can dig into the turf. The course I played on as a youth, if you tried to take a divot, you would damage your clubs. And, as Harvey Penick said, you want a bacon strip divot, not a porkchop and wasn’t he from Texas?

    Reply
  8. Ed Pereira

    April 28, 2021 at 2:04 pm

    I have been known as a “scooper”. Is a scooper a sweeper??
    Doesn’t Lag help you to be a digger, and lack of lag a sweeper?

    Reply
  9. David Harthan

    August 9, 2021 at 9:56 am

    Thanks Gene, very helpful! For a sweeping stroke should I flatten the lead wrist to close the face, or leave it open?

    Reply
    • Gene R Parente

      August 19, 2021 at 8:43 am

      David,

      The difference between a sweeping vs digging stroke is generally in the angle of attack of the club head. The easiest way to achieve this is ball position. The further the ball is back in the stance the steeper the club head will descend on the ball and therefore create more turf interaction at impact. For example a standard ball position is at six o’clock between your feet. If you move the ball back 2-3 inches you will notice a much steeper angle and greater divots.

      Your wrist angle question is a bit more complicated as I would have to see what position your handle is in relation to the club head at impact to make a determination on proper wrist position.

      Reply
  10. DH

    August 10, 2021 at 12:46 pm

    You are full a horse shit. Tell that Greg Norman ,Tom Watson. Gene Littler Mr. Hogan Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth, Patty Sheehan, They all had little to No divot, and hit the ball very solidThey play the game a long very great. compared to the trench diggers. They HURT their body.

    Reply
  11. GenoK

    May 15, 2023 at 7:21 am

    A LONG time ago, when both age AND grass were more pliable than either are today, I was a digger. Becoming a sweeper, picker, scooper happened out of necessity. As such, it also offered a noticeable benefit. Less stress on my hands and shoulders. Now at 73 this has even a bigger benefit…distance. Granted, I need to use my 3h to achieve 180yd carry, but for me that’s just fine. I was a 10 in my 30’s and a 20(?) in my 70’s, only now it’s a game and not work.

    Reply

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